What Fall Quarter Looks Like as a Student Surviving a Pandemic

As I was preparing for DePaul, we were in the most uncertain times. The majority of the country was still not fully reopened. I continued to grow anxious as I wasn’t sure if I would be able to be on campus for the fall. I was fortunate enough to get housing in Munroe Hall and live on campus during my first quarter; this allowed me to attend my in-person class. With Covid continuing to spread, I was lucky enough to have an in-person class. Covid had affected everyone and most weren’t able to attend in-person classes this quarter. This allowed me to meet new students and also become more comfortable with the campus. College can be lonely at times, especially now during the pandemic. The pandemic has made it difficult for freshman especially, to meet people, make connections, and become more involved at DePaul. Forming a growing community continues to be difficult with the Coronavirus numbers rising in most cities. After the first few weeks of the quarter, I started meeting more students living off-campus and was able to form friendships with a great group of people.

Starting college during a pandemic has been hard for every student. It’s especially hard for most students not to have in-person classes. Being in-person allows students to learn better, feel more comfortable asking questions, and form a community at the university. Completing college classes over Zoom or even asynchronously, has been strange and crazy for both students and professors. For me, I was most nervous about managing my time coming to college. Taking online classes causes students to have more of a responsibility. It also can add stress and anxiety to a student’s life.

One thing that has helped me is creating a schedule for myself for the week. I’ve stayed motivated and have been more self-disciplined with it. I wake up relatively early, start my day by exercising, attend my classes, do homework, and try to carve out time for exploring the city. Taking walks around the city and campus has helped me stay positive and remain active. The walks are quiet due to there being a small number of students on campus, but it keeps me positive when thinking how bustling the environment will be once the pandemic is over. Overall, this has been an overwhelmingly difficult time for everyone, but adding something relaxing to your daily routine can help you out of your quarantine-funk.

– Fiona Gallegos